The faceplate for the phone buttons on my Touch Pro is shifting like tectonic plates. The Back button side is flushed with the screen but the Home side is raised a bit like it's bent upwards a bit. Am I the only one with this problem? I walked into a Best Buy to look at the demo and it's all flushed.. even with thousands of hands raping the display unit daily..
Mine is like that to but my back button goes lower
mine is doing the exact same thing. i took mine into bell and they told me that its normal... mind you they were complete f****** idiots. no offence to amyone who works for them. i myself used to sell for them. anyway... i too looked and the display and it was also completely flush. i'm concerned about the reprocutions of long term use...
My Sprint TP has been in exactly the same shape as the original poster's since day 1. I would have refused it initially but just getting the thing was such a pain due to the crappy service I was getting that I just went with it anyway, but it bothers me every time I use it. Does anybody know whether this should be covered under the manufacturers warranty?
My sprint TP is normal .. no issues so far had it for month ..
but reading that scarying me..
hey do you think its just defect ? under my cover says DT08.12.17
guessing day its made ?
Yeah, mine's raised up too... on mine, both sides are raised up with the home side being 1 or 2 millimeters higher. It hasn't seemed to affect the functionality of it. Not sure if mine was like this out of box, but i've had it less than 30 days and just recently noticed it. It won't concern me until the buttons stop working or i have to start pressing harder to activate them.
I just noticed after reading this thread that mine is the same. The home side is higher, where the "back" button is nearly flush. I've only had mine for about two weeks, but it must have been like this out of the box.
Sprint Touch Pro
Mine seems to be even and flush and does not move without my pressing it.
Manufacture Date: 12-2008
I would definitely look into having yours replaced if the plate is shifting around or not flush.
The 3 most annoying things on the phone are the lack of buttons / shortcuts like on my HTC Mogul, battery life (which is fixable with an extended battery), and how hot the phone gets after only a short time of use. Also the volume up/down button gets stuck in the down position occasionally.
Update 12.23.09
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Link to all pics
Well after two more prototypes and a lot of hard work, I feel that Prototype 4 was the winner. I made a little more adjustment to the top where it wedges in, and of course some coloring for asthetic reasons, and I am through with this project. I have a great final piece, thank you to everyone who helped with advice along the way, and I hope my work helps others save time on their creations.
Project result: a great little gamepad that hides in my wallet until time to play some games! Buttons respond great, have the tactile feel I was looking for, and no longer slides during heavy button mashing! Not easily replicatable but worth the time.
Update 12.9.2009
Hey everyone!
Thanks for all the input! Here is the newest prototype, Prototype 4!
I still think it needs refinement, but i think I made some huge improvements!
After destroying another original housing in trial and error sanding, I have decided against waiting another month for $20 housing.
In this application you will need:
1 CD Case
1 Original Keypad (Some have one, otherwise lets think of some substitutes)
Optional:
Dremel Multitool
Paint
Clear Enamel
Link to the process
Plans for the final prototype 5:
Add quick load and save buttons
Change background to black with grey and red buttons
Try to add a Nintendo logo somewhere
Hope this helps all your efforts out there! People see this and hide their iPhone games!
Edited by wakeupkeo; 18th November 2009 at 08:58 PM:
Link to Prototype 1
OK I have frankensteined a useful gamepad hack for NES, GBA and all the rest. This hack is a DIY craft, and you can customized your version to suit you. This was only my first version after many attempts to crate a workable thumbstick hack for the G1. I actually hope this design will get repeated and improved upon, I have another set of parts on order to do this better the second time.
Hope I can explain what I did well enough to start everyone on improvements...
On to the version one hack. My big problem before was my fingers getting lost on the keyboard during emulators so much that a fast paced game was almost impossible. I tried hacking up nes and xbox controllers to creat a handle that could clip onto the phone and hit the right buttons. No dice after alot of trial and all error. Somewhere along the way after I had already cut up this piece from a white housing, I tried this. I got the idea from old school intellivision, that had interchangable slides over the buttons for each game.
So i figured out which button config I liked, (although now I would do this with eight right hand buttons instead of six) and got to work. Cut out unneeded buttons except some that would stay and get glued for stability of the keypad to the faceplate. On the faceplate, I sanded all the protrusions off, so it was credit card thin and smooth.
Next, I put glue stick glue (the blue stuff) in the underside and pressed my keypad on. this would hold the keypad on for now, and still hardedn to a slick surface and not leave glue on the actual phone.
Then, after it dried, I flipped it over and began the enamel work. I got some nail polish from the drug store, a clear, quick-drying version, and put a coat over the buttons I don't use, to hold the keypad to the faceplate for good. Next, I put thin coats on each game button and let it dry, over and over, until I had a thick bump that was strong, slick, and tactile.
Works great, but the plate as a whole does slide a little on the craziest of games, but now I can play fighting games! So on the next version, I will leave alot more plastic on the top part of the faveplate to make a more secure connection there.
Thoughts? I expect the new parts for my revised faceplate in a few weeks, so I hope to see improvements before then!
Edit: Ok, maybe just hear about some improvement thoughts? Figured this would interest someone, but I guess by the silence that I was wrong... I do plan on moving the directional buttons one over, the select and start one over, and add two more action buttons. And add more to the top part so stay in place a little better. But this version works so well right now, no mis press of buttons, no losing center of direction buttons in a quick game like Tekken and Street Fighter 2 Alpha. I figured I would get some advice for my next and last version, and since the usb host to controller coding seems impossible without technical info from quallcom, this is the best solution to the game controlling buttons I can think of, does anyone have a better idea?
This is actually a really great idea, but not feasible for most people, where do you get an extra G1 keypad?
But, if you could cut a piece of plastic or something to the size of the G1 keyboard (so it would sit snugly) you could just punch holes and/or put buttons on the spots over your selected keys.
Hmmm, I bet even something like a credit card would work.
Just cut the bottom off so it sits perfectly on the keboard, poke holes over the keys you want to press...
The hard part is figuring out how to make buttons.
Thanks for the feedback!
I think you definitely need buttons as opposed to simply holes.
There are two bolts the screen swings to. When I get my next keypad, I am planning on turning that part of the plastic piece into hooks that secure the gamepad. Should be here soon, $20 from hong Kong on ebay. I had the first spare keypad from my Stormtrooper Mod. Others might have one lying around for one reason or another, these are hackers after all.
Credit card idea is perfect, I initially carried the gamepad in the stock g1 padded case but nowadays I keep it in my wallet. Its not bigger than a credit card, and even with the securing improvements still should be smaller than than my id. Iths thin and flexible to handle the wallet no problem.
Once I finish the final version, I will diagram the exact measurements for you all to build your own out of whatever with assurance the buttons will line up!
Edit:
I found the top part that was originally cut off. Its separate but shows layout above the keypad. This is the cut I'm thinking to allow the gamepad to slide into a stationary position. Here is where I'm hoping for more advice on how to cut this just right.
kinda jumping in here. i tried doing it with a credit card, and it works amazing.
i did this for gameboid. it works amazing, actually. better than i expected. i tried it with mariokart (gba), a game where u constantly are moving your thumbs, and so far it was great... ill upload a video when im done with my lab :/
anyways. my tools were: Sharpie, swiss army knife, multiple scissors, tape, and a subway eat fresh rewards card >:]
first i fit the card onto the g1. it slides in pretty nice already, just had to cut off excess...card. marked it with a sharpie, fit to size. try not to make a mess of what you cut off, it comes back. i figured out the buttons i wanted to use. i started with the "dpad." i took the needle thing on the back of the swiss army knife and stabbed it through the card. made it big enough to start cutting. cut out to size. did this for the rest of the buttons as well. i then took the excess card stuff and started cutting out buttons that would fit. started with everything around the same size as the keyboard buttons. i put them in the wholes of the card that was cut out previous, made sure they werent touching the wall, and put a single piece of tape over the top. did that to the bottom too. then, since the dpad felt awkward, i cut one out that imitated the regular gba keyboard, and doubled it on top of the current dpad. i doubled therest of the buttons as well, to have them pop out a bit. put a single piece of tape over the top, none on the bottom. just used some tape to help it stay on the g1, not much is needed, its pretty snug.
as you can see, it isnt great looking, but it works really well
I've always been curious about making use of the mini usb drive the g1 has.
Imagine a shell casing around the phone that mounts into the port and has buttons that can be key mapped into apps for dpads and abxy buttons.
Icebergxx said:
I've always been curious about making use of the mini usb drive the g1 has.
Imagine a shell casing around the phone that mounts into the port and has buttons that can be key mapped into apps for dpads and abxy buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i wouldnt get your hopes up. ive tried stuff like that...didnt work out so well. the drivers in the phone only allow the usb driver to do certain things... same goes for the export...it just wouldnt work that...for the normal person. if u have alot of time on your hands and phones you can risk breaking (like HTC, but they have no reason to do this), then go ahead
Nice Credit Card Hack- I think we're onto something here. Easily a way to match the two and offer people diagrams with exact measurements to make their own. Personally I would have kept the L button to the right, so you don't need to leave the directional pad to press it, but whatever your preference.
As for the USB hack, I have done extensive research into this area, and it seems without some code from HTC directly, no one has been able to break into this or a bluetooth hack. Seems easy, usb or bluetooth 12-15 keyboard buttons and we'd be set. But no one has been able to break it, so I have gone to this hardware hack. Any breakthrough news would be greatly appreciated on this thread, but up until now it seems we are at a wall software-wise.
On another note, in doing GBA game research, I noticed a big part of the games were ported from SNES to GBA, so I bought the SNES emulator and gave it a chance. Wow, what a difference. Honestly, the gameplay is so much faster and responsive, the library of games is so much more diverse, I hardly play GBA games anymore until I finish the SNES library. I'm currently working my way through Super Punch Out, and love using Prototype One. When people see me playing the SNES library, they hide their iPhone. Everyone I have encountered admits a separate gamepad is preffered over touching the screen and losing some visibility, and are amazed at the dexterity the Gamepad Prototype One offers. Please keep experimenting people!
Still waiting on my parts from hong kong to make the final design, its taking forever!
wakeupkeo said:
Nice Credit Card Hack- I think we're onto something here. Easily a way to match the two and offer people diagrams with exact measurements to make their own. Personally I would have kept the L button to the right, so you don't need to leave the directional pad to press it, but whatever your preference.
As for the USB hack, I have done extensive research into this area, and it seems without some code from HTC directly, no one has been able to break into this or a bluetooth hack. Seems easy, usb or bluetooth 12-15 keyboard buttons and we'd be set. But no one has been able to break it, so I have gone to this hardware hack. Any breakthrough news would be greatly appreciated on this thread, but up until now it seems we are at a wall software-wise.
On another note, in doing GBA game research, I noticed a big part of the games were ported from SNES to GBA, so I bought the SNES emulator and gave it a chance. Wow, what a difference. Honestly, the gameplay is so much faster and responsive, the library of games is so much more diverse, I hardly play GBA games anymore until I finish the SNES library. I'm currently working my way through Super Punch Out, and love using Prototype One. When people see me playing the SNES library, they hide their iPhone. Everyone I have encountered admits a separate gamepad is preffered over touching the screen and losing some visibility, and are amazed at the dexterity the Gamepad Prototype One offers. Please keep experimenting people!
Still waiting on my parts from hong kong to make the final design, its taking forever!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looking forward to it.
my hack is ok, but it looks like it would break over time. kinda a cheap hack i guess, cost nothing. urs shows promise. engaget worthy
alexjzim said:
i wouldnt get your hopes up. ive tried stuff like that...didnt work out so well. the drivers in the phone only allow the usb driver to do certain things... same goes for the export...it just wouldnt work that...for the normal person. if u have alot of time on your hands and phones you can risk breaking (like HTC, but they have no reason to do this), then go ahead
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reminds me when I had iPod Linux on my iPod video 5.5g. We would solder the cables of a nes controller to the board and run it out a hole in the side where there was room -.-) and mounted it in a rough mount on top of the controller.
Worked decent :3 but we couldn't do it through usb as stated because we didn't know how to 'awaken' the usb for such use.
alexjzim said:
i wouldnt get your hopes up. ive tried stuff like that...didnt work out so well. the drivers in the phone only allow the usb driver to do certain things... same goes for the export...it just wouldnt work that...for the normal person. if u have alot of time on your hands and phones you can risk breaking (like HTC, but they have no reason to do this), then go ahead
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forget, driver installers? The softwear that makes plugging something into the computer readable and usable?
Anywho I feel as if we devoloped an app to read the modded usb port for it it might work?
Especially with root user.
But I really am more of a concept sort of guy
Hmm, I'm kinda diggin the credit-card thing... I might use an old expired library card or something xD
Can you go a little bit more in-depth on how you made it though? How did you get it to pop up and not hit other buttons when you push down on it?
amgupt01 said:
Hmm, I'm kinda diggin the credit-card thing... I might use an old expired library card or something xD
Can you go a little bit more in-depth on how you made it though? How did you get it to pop up and not hit other buttons when you push down on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol. ive been slacking off posting everything. what i did was cut a whole in teh credit card where i wanted the buttons. make it bigger, doesnt have to be perfect. i then cut tiny peaces to the size of the button, so it would only press one. put a single piece of tape over the top and bottom.
then i cut out more of the remaining card to make the buttons bigger, and to make the "dpad" easier to use . put them over the original buttons, so it pops out.
if u dont get it, ill post a video using paper to show what i did. while im at it, if u need that, ill just make a video on usage
AWESOME!
alexjzim said:
kinda jumping in here. i tried doing it with a credit card, and it works amazing.
i did this for gameboid. it works amazing, actually. better than i expected. i tried it with mariokart (gba), a game where u constantly are moving your thumbs, and so far it was great... ill upload a video when im done with my lab :/
anyways. my tools were: Sharpie, swiss army knife, multiple scissors, tape, and a subway eat fresh rewards card >:]
first i fit the card onto the g1. it slides in pretty nice already, just had to cut off excess...card. marked it with a sharpie, fit to size. try not to make a mess of what you cut off, it comes back. i figured out the buttons i wanted to use. i started with the "dpad." i took the needle thing on the back of the swiss army knife and stabbed it through the card. made it big enough to start cutting. cut out to size. did this for the rest of the buttons as well. i then took the excess card stuff and started cutting out buttons that would fit. started with everything around the same size as the keyboard buttons. i put them in the wholes of the card that was cut out previous, made sure they werent touching the wall, and put a single piece of tape over the top. did that to the bottom too. then, since the dpad felt awkward, i cut one out that imitated the regular gba keyboard, and doubled it on top of the current dpad. i doubled therest of the buttons as well, to have them pop out a bit. put a single piece of tape over the top, none on the bottom. just used some tape to help it stay on the g1, not much is needed, its pretty snug.
as you can see, it isnt great looking, but it works really well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what I had in mind but was too lazy to actually try. Now you've inspired me to actually try it though!
One of the coolest thing about this is you could do whatever button layout you wanted! You could even carry a few with different layouts for different games.
Heres a question for you all:
I finally received a new body to make a final gamepad, but I have a question for all you gamers- is a simple four-way directional button layout better than eight different directional buttons? Experience in games so far don't seem to show much need for diagonal buttons if pressing the the two buttons it combines is just as good. The credit card hack has only the four directions, so in designing my final, what you you think is better in terms of gameplay? SNES is my favorite emulator, so answers partial to that are preferred!
Bump. Is that allowed? Just posted new prototype...
Here's my super low-rent, quick and dirty (literally) version so far. This is the prototype before i make the better one.
I've only done the d-pad, I'm playing around to see which buttons I want to use for a b x y or whatever.
It actually works REALLY well.
Once I finish this one, I'm gonna cut up another card, but this time cut a section out of the right side of the card (if you've holding it horizontally) so it wraps around the "chin" of the phone to stay in place better.
Nice!
Yes, these designs work REALLY well...
Think I will try to do a credit card one, the plastic is more flexible that the CD case plastic. I want to keep the piece in my wallet, and I know a credit card can take the pressure and flex. Not sure about the cd case plastic yet...
cheap source of plastic for these mods....
Grocery stores.
Alot of them have the area for phone cards and prepaid cards.
None of those cards have any value until they are activated.
They have some that are thinner plastic and some that are thicker. Most are paper with a plastic coating.
I grabbed a bunch when I did my phone stand prototypes.
(Which reminds me...I never posted that.)
your #4 seems to be really nice. i like the color and design. it seems to hook around the g1, which im pretty sure you were aiming for. how exactly does it work in terms of force for the keys?
and if ur gunna go for a credit card, if u put a thin layer of take over both sides, and leave the button in a "hole," it works pretty nice.
im gunna try some new ideas in my #2, thought ide share them in case you want to take them
for the buttons, ill take apart my old gameboy, or SP ( i remember those days ) and use them, if they fit. for force in the actual keyboard, i was thinking of actually using springs, not sure exactly how it would work ... maybe cut a small one from a pen up. for stability, it just popped into my mind.. idk about you but i can easily slide a piece of paper through my g1s screen. not a credit card, but deff. at least movie stud thickness. what im getting at is, you could probably make a "hook" thats straight, and once it pops under the screen, you can bend it, or maybe its meant to pop (i like this word) to hook onto something, like a hairclip. a spring might work here too. hell, when you open the screen and it moves out, theres definitely room to slip a thin wire through. just tie a "knot" on the end of the wire, slip it through, and when its closed, the wire cant come out. just have to make sure its a tight fit. then, if the plastic can curl around on the other side, you'd be good to go.
just giving my 2 cents. ill prob try this stuff sometime over the weekend, maybe sooner.
also, you can set the camera button to something, not really sure if thats helpful, but you could prob make it start, and have room for other stuff.
also, on my dpad thing, i noticed that lets say if i set an UP+LEFT key, it only goes up, if i have two different keys for up and left, and press them at teh same time, it still only goes up. anyone else having this problem? gets annoying after a while
EDIT: improvising on myself, i came up with how it could work. might need more plastic than there is on a credit card :/. anyone know that type of material, but in a bigger...card? doesnt need to be exactly the same, just close enough.
Has anyone attempted this?
I saw this thread and was wondering if anyone has tried installing wminput or lswm to get a wii remote working with bluetooth under Debian or Ubuntu? I just started playing with it myself.
I usually just lurk on these forums as I am completely new to android and still just getting to barely understand the basics. To thank everyone here for this tremendous redource, i wanted to share my solution forfinding the tablet buttons in the dark . I have some 1/8th automotive pinstriping that I use to mark my rock climbing gear. It's very durable but can easily be chipped off with a fingernail without leaving any residue. It's also thick enough that you can easily feel it with your fingertip. I put strips running from front to back in line where each button sits with a tiny bit overhanging the lip on the screen. if you cut it right you can feel the edge if you run your finger along the lip but it won't peel off if you get it right. Just be careful if you clean the screen with a microfiber cloth because it will snag on the edges. So noe ican feel where the buttons line up in the dark and my g tab has some wicked yet functional racing stripes. I went with reflective orange. i hear it adds a couple of ghz to the processor speed like flourescent paint adds hp to civics.
I hope someone finds this useful. I wouldn't have bothered buying this tablet if I hadn't learned from this forum about all the cool stuff i could do, and since have done to it. Many thanks to all of you for your hard work and continued enthusiasim.
I'm actually used to where the buttons are. I don't need to see them anymore to use them. In the dark, I hit it 95% of the time first time nowadays.
hey, i think that's a great idea. a fix that will work for users who don't want to mod the gtab in order to add LEDs.
would an autoparts store have that 1/8in pinstripe? i wonder how well it would go on over a skinomi?
@ffastfzr
Could you post some pics? Id really like to see what this looks like. It sounds like a great idea.
I'll see what I can do
The pinstriping is available at auto parts stores. It will stick to a clear coat on a car and pretty much anything you else you stick it to. So it should stick to a skin. I ordered mine online because I wanted highly reflective bright orange. Like I said I had it for my rock climbing gear. you get a distinctive color and size and then you wrap a little stripe on each piece of your gear like carabiners so your climbing partners don't walk away with them. The joke is that you trust your partners to hold the rope and potentially save your life, but you don't trust them to not walk off with your gear.
I'll take a couple of pics and post as soon as I can. My firm is having networking issues and I am about to get kicked offline until this evening.
pics of pinstriping
Sorry, DISASTER at work followed up with a case of lyme disease complete with 2 weeks worth of industrial strength antibiotics. My luck could certainly be better. Anyway, pics are attached. Sorry they aren't they greatest.
Button Savior is alot easier
button savior is nice. I also find that in the dark, hitting the back button is easy if you just put your thumb on the side of the screen and just slide it up. When it hits the back button, just stop
gpzjack said:
Button Savior is alot easier
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Button savoir combined with Quick Boot, both free in the market can handle all the process of both the soft keys and the power button functions easily..
I like this Idea, if I switch to a rom other than VEGAn Ginger which has soft keys on the bottom I may try it out.
I just sent the images below to my Father-in-law to tends to make stuff out of wood. He makes beautiful hutches, cabinets, hope chests, cribs, and other wood furniture pieces that he gives to family members and does it as a hobby. He makes great stuff.
My wife is always complaining that I clutter up the end table near my lazyboy with stuff... I have a TV tray like thing in front of the chair where I have a notebook most of the time so that I can be out with the family while working on my second job and having a storage area that looks like a piece of furniture would be handy.
The hutch idea would give me a place to put that stuff, and provide a central power station at the same time. I am always needing to temporarily plug something into the wall as well, and this would give me a way of doing that without diving behind the couch to get to the socket. Sometimes I need to program a router or plug in a backup drive etc... and I have a power dock now there for my phone, charge my tablet etc...
While I could work from my home office, it tends to get hot this time of year and I prefer to spend more time out with the family.
I think these things should be in stores...
What do you think??
Click for larger Image
Looks nice, and u seem to have most of it figured out, down to the power outlet. very nice.
Just found out that he is building it! Should have it sometime in late May. Will take pictures when I get it.
That's pretty awesome. They should build that into entertainment systems as well. A central plug at the bottom of it to plug into the wall then two power strips that have like 10-15 plugs. We are such power hogs.
krelvinaz said:
I just sent the images below to my Father-in-law to tends to make stuff out of wood. He makes beautiful hutches, cabinets, hope chests, cribs, and other wood furniture pieces that he gives to family members and does it as a hobby. He makes great stuff.
My wife is always complaining that I clutter up the end table near my lazyboy with stuff... I have a TV tray like thing in front of the chair where I have a notebook most of the time so that I can be out with the family while working on my second job and having a storage area that looks like a piece of furniture would be handy.
The hutch idea would give me a place to put that stuff, and provide a central power station at the same time. I am always needing to temporarily plug something into the wall as well, and this would give me a way of doing that without diving behind the couch to get to the socket. Sometimes I need to program a router or plug in a backup drive etc... and I have a power dock now there for my phone, charge my tablet etc...
While I could work from my home office, it tends to get hot this time of year and I prefer to spend more time out with the family.
I think these things should be in stores...
What do you think??
Click for larger Image
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats awesome I need one lol
I like your idea. Have a few of them made. If you can do it for a decent price, I would buy one without thinking twice.
It has arrived... Already put it to use with all my Raspberry Pi clutter...
More info:
http://rpi.tnet.com/project/hardware/hutch